Bread board type things

[NoRush]

Been asked to make some boards for a posh chain of pubs in my area for serving food on (burgers in a bun I think). Will find out on Monday.

The question is I know Ash is the best wood for the job but I have none but I do have a load of spalted beach ready milled. Would this be suitable.

Also these boards are going to be about 6inch x 10inch x 1inch thick. What do you think I should charge per board and and treat them with. Food safe of course

 

Any help and advice would be a great

[tombo]

I've made quite few cutting and serving boards and have sold hundreds over the last couple of years. I use pretty much whatever local hardwoods I can get, either what I've milled or what I buy ready-milled. Ash, cherry, sycamore, beech, hornbeam, whatever ! All dried in my small Sauno kiln.

 

I oil them with 2 coats of liquid paraffin and a final coat of Rustins Original Danish Oil, which means that they stay looking good for longer ( the liquid paraffin soaks in after a week or two and leaves the board looking a bit dull ).

 

Price depends on your finished quality and your market. People don't realise how much work is involved in producing a decent board ! Mine go for £10 -£40 depending on size.

 

People like to know a bit about the , the process and where it came from : all good selling points.

 

Hope this helps. All the best. Tom

[NoRush]

Thanks Tom that helps a lot. I got a 4ft x 10ft trunk of beech so that should make a few boards

[Woodworks]

From Wiki

 

"Wood[edit]

 

 

Chicken with lemons on a large wooden cutting board

Wood has some advantages over plastic in that it is somewhat self-healing; shallow cuts in the wood will close up on their own. Wood also has natural anti-septic properties.[1]

Hardwoods with tightly grained wood and small pores are best for wooden cutting boards. Good hardness and tight grain help reduce scoring of the cutting surface and absorption of liquid and dirt into the surface. Red oak for example, even though a hardwood, has large pores, so it retains dirt even after washing, making it a poor choice for cutting-board material.

Teak's tight grains and natural coloration make it a highly attractive cutting-board material, both for aesthetic and durability purposes. Teak, a tropical wood, contains tectoquinones, components of natural oily resins that repel moisture, fungi, warping, rot and microbes.[2]

Wood boards need to be cared for with mineral oil to avoid warping, and should not be left in puddles of liquid.

Care must be taken when selecting wood, especially tropical hardwood, for use as a cutting board, as some species contain toxins or allergens.

Although technically a grass, laminated strips of bamboo also make an attractive and durable cutting-board material."

 

Doesn't sound like ash is very suitable but beech would tick all the boxes.

Edited June 14, 2013 by Woodworks

[muttley9050]

I would say ash and beech are the top choices. My boards are usually made from, ash beech,cherry, walnut, oak.

[NoRush]

I got plenty of oak and sweat chestnut but I read somewhere that they are no good because of the tanning in them or something like that. Good for bread boards. I know the butchers blocks are made of ash. Would the spalting on the beech be a proplem

[muttley9050]

Oak is fine, not sure about chestnut but if you do use it, try to keep your sweat off it! I've been in a lot of butchers shops and never seen an ash block. Always beech or ash ime.

Have read before that u shouldn't use spalted wood for food safe things coz of the possibly toxic spores but I don't know really.

[Big Beech]

Butchers blox r beech. Always hav been n always will b.

Our local servin platters use oak.

Remeber if you use danish oil n the like it contains tung oil. Not good for people with nut allergies!!!!

[NoRush]

Thanks Muttley that's what I've heard but don't know for sure.

Thanks Big Beech I was always told they were ash and I worked in a butchers shop for a couple of years a long time ago. Never to old to learn something new. What would you use that's allergy safe.

Thanks for you advice so far been very useful

[APC]

Isn't sycamore pucka for chopping boards?